Anthony Martial went from villain to hero as his second-half equaliser earned Manchester United a deserved point in a 1-1 draw against CSKA Moscow in Champions League Group B on Wednesday.
The French teenager conceded a first-half penalty but popped up with a fine header to keep United two points behind group leaders VfL Wolfsburg, level with CSKA and a point ahead of PSV Eindhoven.
The visitors started well but fell behind after 15 minutes after Martial was correctly adjudged to have hand-balled in the penalty area.
Roman Eremnko’s spot-kick was brilliantly palmed on to the post by David de Gea, but the ball rebounded into the path of Seydou Doumbia who had the easiest of finishes.
Ahmed Musa almost doubled the lead midway through the first half side as he looked to chip the Spanish international from distance, but De Gea produced another top-class save to keep his team in the game.
United had to wait until just before the hour mark to force Igor Akinfeev in the CSKA goal to make a save as he kept out a Wayne Rooney header.
But the momentum was with the visitors and they drew level on 65 minutes.
Antonio Valencia produced a good cross from the right which was met by Martial who sent a glancing header past Akinfeev and in off the post.
United, with Marouane Fellaini on as a focal point for the attack, swarmed forward in search of the winner but failed to create any clearcut chances and were forced to settle for a point.
City grab second Group D win but leave it late again
ManchesterCity left it late to win a second successive Champions League game, with Kevin De Bruyne scoring a minute into stoppage time to give them a 2-1 win over Sevilla at the Etihad Stadium in Group D on Wednesday.
Last month Sergio Aguero's penalty in the 90th minute gave them a 2-1 win at Borussia Moenchengladbach and the two wins, following a home defeat by Juventus in their opening game, have boosted their chances of reaching the last 16.
De Bruyne's goal came even later than Aguero's with the Belgian's neatly-executed left-foot angled shot coming after 91 minutes to give City victory when it looked as though Sevilla were about to leave with a deserved point.
De Bruyne has had a huge impact since arriving for 55 million pounds ($84.78 million) from VfL Wolfsburg at the end of August and he played a defining role in this game too, after coach Manuel Pellegrini pushed him up front in search of the winner.
The result, plus Juventus's 0-0 draw with Moenchengladbach in the other game, left Juve top with seven points, followed by City on six, Sevilla (3) and Moenchengladbach (1).
Real hold PSG to take control of group
Real Madrid took a big step towards finishing top of Champions League Group A game when they held Paris St Germain to a 0-0 draw in the French capital on Wednesday as both teams remained unbeaten.
French champions PSG enjoyed most of the possession but took an over-cautious approach and injury-hit Real had the best chances through Cristiano Ronaldo and Jese in the first half.
The Spanish 10-times European champions stayed top of the group with seven points from three games and lead PSG on goal difference, with the reverse fixture to come in Madrid in two weeks time.
Malmo are third on three points after beating pointless Shakhtar Donetsk 1-0.
Juventus frustrated by Gladbach as Buffon breaks record
Juventus were held to a frustrating 0-0 home draw with Borussia Moenchengladbach in the Champions League on Wednesday, as the Italians dominated possession and chances but failed to break down the visitors' steely defence.
The hosts hogged the ball but were unable to find a breakthrough with Paul Pogba and Alvaro Morata both going close, while Mario Mandzukic had a penalty appeal rejected by referee Craig Thomson on 66 minutes.
While Juventus failed to make a mark on the scoresheet, keeper Gianluigi Buffon entered the club's record books as he beat Alessandro Del Piero’s record for minutes played for the 'Old Lady' of Italian football.
Del Piero previously held the record having played 48,867 minutes for the club, but it was surpassed by Buffon in the 73rd minute of an exasperating evening for Juventus.
“I overtook Del Piero, but I prefer the success of the team, to share it with friends, the public and the fans," a disappointed Buffon told reporters.
The draw left Juve in top spot in Group D, havingpicked up seven points from their opening three matches.
Martinez on target as Atletico hit four past Astana
Jackson Martinez hit his first Champions League goal for Atletico Madrid as they swept aside Astana 4-0 in Group C at the Calderon on Wednesday.
A scrappy strike from the edge of the area which took a deflection off defender Denis Dedechko after 29 minutes will boost the confidence of Martinez who has struggled to live up to his 35 million-euro ($39.7 million) transfer fee from Porto.
Saul Niguez opened the scoring with a flick from the edge of the six-yard box after 22 minutes and Oliver Torres delicately chipped the ball over keeper Nenad Eric after 63 minutes.
A Juanfran Torres cross was turned into his own goal by Dedechko to complete the rout a minute from time.
Atletico Madrid have six points from three games in the group while Kazakhstan's Astana have one.
Wolfsburg top Group with 2-0 win over PSV Eindhoven
VfL Wolfsburg scored twice in 11 minutes through Bas Dost and Max Kruse to beat PSV Eindhoven 2-0 in their Champions League game on Wednesday to go two points clear at the top of Group B with their second home win of the competition.
Dutch striker Dost got his maiden Champions League goal a minute after the restart and in-form Kruse added another with a glancing header in the 57th minute with keeper Diego Benaglio saving a PSV penalty in stoppage time.
The result lifts Wolfsburg, who have also gone 27 home matches in the Bundesliga without defeat, to six points, two ahead of Manchester United and CSKA Moscow, who drew 1-1 in Russia.
PSV have failed to win away against German opposition for 15 consecutive games in a run stretching back to 1977 and are bottom on three points.
Rosenberg fires Malmo to Champions League victory over Shaktar
Markus Rosenberg's majestic first-half goal was enough to give Malmo a nervy home victory over Shaktar Donetsk in their Champions League Group A clash at the Swedbank Stadium.
It took until the 17th minute of their third game for Malmo's first goal of the group stage to arrive, but when it did the Swedbank Stadium erupted as Rosenberg confidently stabbed home Pa Konate's low cross from around the penalty spot.
Jo-Inge Berget almost doubled the home side's lead just before halftime but Andriy Pyatov pulled of a wonderful reflex save to push the ball away.
Shaktar captain Darijo Srna conceded a penalty 10 minutes into the second half when he pulled down Jo-Inge Berget, but Nicola Djurdjic missed the spot-kick.
Shaktar, who looked dangerous going forward but had few shots on target, managed to get the ball in the net in the 78th minute but the goal was ruled out for offside.
The win left Shaktar firmly rooted to the bottom of Group A without a point, while Malmo are in third place with three.
Paris Saint Germain and Real Madrid are level at the top on seven points after a 0-0 draw in the French capital.
Galatasaray beat Benfica 2-1 to kickstart campaign
Galatasaray rebounded from conceding an early goal to beat Benfica with two first-half strikes on Wednesday, reviving their Champions League hopes in Group C after a disappointing start to their campaign.
They were shocked in the second minute when Nicolas Gaitan put the visitors ahead after he received the ball in the penalty area, stepped inside Aurelien Chedjou and fired past keeper Fernando Muslera.
But Galatasaray captain Selcuk Inan hit back in the 19th minute, scoring from the penalty spot after Andre Almeida handled in the area.
Lukas Podolski put the momentum firmly with the home side in the 33rd minute when he ran on to a long ball from Chedjou along the right and drove a left-foot shot past keeper Julio Cesar.
The second half started with a flurry of goal efforts with both keepers making saves, Wesley Sneijder firing from long distance against the post and Benfica failing to hit the target after some attacking moves.
But the home side gradually fell back into firm defence and kept the Lisbon visitors at bay.
The result still leaves Galatasaray third on four points behind Benfica on six, level on points with leaders Atletico Madrid who beat Astana 4-0.
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